Tufts Blogs

Roughly three years, nine months, and seventeen days ago, I sat in my AP Calculus class, sitting unusually still while I clicked the refresh button on the QuestBridge portal page. When I was welcomed with a bright maroon gif that flashed “You’ve Been Matched!” I nearly lost my breath. As dramatic as it sounds, I quietly (though very obviously) scurried out of the classroom and hurried into the bathroom as I struggled to find my phone in my jacket. After several tries to call my parents, my mom finally picked up; the sound of her voice tethered me back to reality and as I told her the news, I struggled to process that I would be spending the next four years of my life at Tufts.

Before being matched, I was plagued with stress and a desire to just know where I would be going after graduation. After being matched by QuestBridge, my thoughts regarding college were equal parts excitement and fear. As senior year continued faster than I could keep up, the stress of the logistics and the reality of going to college joined the excitement and the novelty of it all. I’d been in the Midwest for nearly twelve years, and while the idea of getting out of my familiar Missouri college town had been a dream of mine, I had never, ever been to the Northeast. I only knew Tufts through its website pictures and the Tufts Admissions YouTube page. The fact that no one knew Tufts - except for my dentist, a couple of teachers, and a pretentious classmate who knew college rankings like the back of his hand - worried me further. Would I be able to find a community? Would I enjoy the Northeast and survive the allegedly dreadful hills of Tufts' campus? Most of all, would I fit in a school where only 40% of students receive any kind of financial aid? 

Now that I’m a senior, I can confidently say that I am so glad that I – admittedly, by impulse – scribbled down Tufts University on my QuestBridge ranking form. These past three years have challenged me, brought me to tears, given me tremendous joy, and most of all, have made me grow as both a student and a person. As most first-year students tend to be, I was initially overwhelmed by the nature of college social scenes and the long process of making genuine friendships. However, I was lucky to find a great group of friends (which I’m still close with to this day!) early on at Tufts. My group of friends, three of whom are first-gen students, were great support for me as I struggled with imposter syndrome and getting a study routine. By the time I was comfortable with the swing of college and acclimated to the Boston area, the pandemic began. To this day, COVID continues to impact our lives, but it was during my sophomore and junior years that its impacts felt most intense. 

Unlike many colleges, Tufts was able to host us for an in-person year, albeit with remote classes and a variety of changes to our college lives. Then, more so than ever, it was important for students to have a community to feel supported by. I lived with five lovely women in the on-campus Hillsides Apartments, and we spent every week of my sophomore year in our cozy apartment; bonding and supporting each other through two incredibly tough semesters. Despite the pandemic and several personal challenges I underwent, sophomore year was nonetheless a decisive time in my academic career: I realized that I had deprived myself of studying the liberal arts and decided to major in history as well as computer science. I interned at The Neighborhood Developers, a nonprofit that focuses on affordable housing issues in the Chelsea and Everett in the fall. In the spring I interned at Voice of Witness, a nonprofit that uplifts the voices of marginalized communities through an oral history book series. These two internships, which are focused on aiding and uplifting underrepresented communities, were fundamental to my current pursuit of becoming a public interest lawyer. 

During my junior year, I began to dive deep into both of my majors, as well as my other interests. I experienced the joys and challenges of intimately small, seminar-style classes when I took Race and Ethnicity in Eastern Europe with Professor Rachel Applebaum and a political science course titled Making States with Professor Consuelo Cruz. Looking to expand my professional experience, I applied to Tisch Summer Fellows, an internship program offered through the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic life, and was able to meet the lovely program administrator Jenna Logue, who has been an incredible cheerleader for me for over a year now. Additionally, it was during my junior year that I discovered that Tufts had a professor who could teach me how to play accordion. After a couple of emails and questions, I was able to realize my lifelong dream of playing accordion. I began taking lessons with Professor Michael McLaughlin, who trusted me enough to borrow the first accordion he ever learned how to play on (I’m currently on my third semester of accordion lessons!) 

In this blog, I can’t possibly capture all of my feelings and gratitude towards the people – friends, faculty, and mentors – of this school. I can’t capture how much I love the Boston area - dysfunctional T and all. I also can’t capture my tremendous gratitude for being able to attend a great college, which was something I wasn’t sure I would be able to achieve or afford when I was in high school. Three years after submitting my QuestBridge application, I can confidently say that Tufts is exactly what I hoped it would be: a match. While the age-old saying of “college is what you make of it” is very true and the college admissions process can lead to a variety of different outcomes, I am forever grateful to QuestBridge for opening the doors for me to attend an institution that I feel is for me. Whether you end up at Tufts, or anywhere else, you, as a first-generation and/or low-income student, are going to embark on a journey of personal growth and development and while it may not be easy, you will overcome and you will succeed. I hope that every one of you can attend a college where you are made to feel academically challenged and supported and can make genuine connections with the people around you. For those other Questies interested in Tufts: I really like Tufts. I truly do. For everyone: keep hiking up the long trail that is the college admissions process and don’t look back because exciting things are in store for you, no matter where you end up.